Share experience of growing vegetables with high density on the windowsill
The editor introduces you to some small experiences of melons, fruits, and vegetables, shares the experience of growing vegetables with high density on the windowsill, and the editor will introduce to you next.
Friends with large balconies, terraces, or courtyards can't understand the troubles caused by limited space, but even with limited space, we can still grow a variety of vegetables. Here, I share my experience of high-density planting on the windowsill.
On my 3-meter long and 30-centimeter wide windowsill, there are 17 cups of scallions, 10 bottles (bags) of chili peppers, 3 bags of radishes, 4 bottles of loose-leaf lettuce, 4 jars of purple lettuce, 3 jars of head lettuce, 4 buckets of tomatoes, 2 pots with a total of 5 okra plants, 1 pot with 2 cucumbers, 1 bottle of loofah, and 7 bottles with a total of 11 rapeseed plants. Even so, there is still usable space. From a distance, the windowsill is filled with green leaves, full of vitality, and up close, it is also a variety of lush plants, which looks very pleasant.
One of the key points of high-density planting is to choose small, closely arranged cultivation containers.
Generally, round pots used for growing flowers occupy a large area and the internal area is not fully utilized, so they are not the ideal choice for high-density planting. Square pots are more ideal, but they may not be available everywhere, and square pots are not small, which may cause inconvenience when placing them. Therefore, if square pots are not available, you need to think creatively to find other containers.
Varieties of beverage bottles can be used as good cultivation containers, such as beverage bottles, mineral water bottles, especially square冰 tea bottles, which are very good for growing short plants like lettuce, rapeseed, and scallions. Larger bottles, such as large cola bottles and oil drums, can be used to grow tall plants like tomatoes, okra, and cucumbers. Disposable cups can also be used as cultivation containers, but if paper cups are used, they can easily be soaked through, so they need to be replaced regularly or a new cup needs to be placed over the old one. Plastic disposable cups are not waterproof, but they are generally soft and need to be held carefully when moving.
Aluminum cans can also be used for planting, but the aluminum cans of cola are very thin and have sharp edges, so be careful not to cut your fingers when using them. The feature of mango juice iron cans is that they are very short, making them particularly suitable for seedling raising, and it is also possible to grow short leafy vegetables in these small cans.
Variety of soft materials can also be used for planting, such as socks, thick plastic bags, and other items that can be obtained through waste utilization. Especially thicker socks have elasticity and can retain water, and they also look good, making them good cultivation containers for plants with stems like peppers and mint, as well as root plants like radishes.
The second key point of high-density planting is to fully utilize space, developing in 3D.
The flat area of the windowsill is very limited, so you need to explore space vertically. For example, use the window lattice of the anti-theft window to build a small board, making a small platform, place light-loving plants on the platform, and shade-tolerant plants under the platform, which can expand a lot of usable area. You can also use short sticks, bamboo chopsticks, etc., to make some hollow shelves斜挂在防盗窗棂上, the advantage of these shelves is that they have a large light surface and do not completely block the sunlight below.
Hanging is another convenient method. With some small devices, you can hang your vegetables in the air. For example, cultivation containers made of plastic bottles can be hung with two holes and a rope. This can leave valuable bottom space for large plants like tomatoes and cucumbers. I also made a kind of inverted container, which is especially suitable for hanging tall plants with stems. If used to grow vine plants, you need to choose limited growth types, otherwise once they grow, the inverted containers won't be able to let the vines fall, and there will be something to see.
The third key point of high-density planting is watering, fertilizing, and daily management.
Because the containers used for high-density cultivation are generally small and the amount of soil used is less, the amount of water and fertilizer retention is limited. Weeding can avoid wasting water and nutrients, and it is a pleasant thing to check on your windowsill vegetable garden every day, which doesn't take much time.
Although there are many containers in high-density cultivation, it is not particularly troublesome to water them, because they are placed one next to another, so it is quite convenient to water with a mineral water bottle in hand. If you make some simple slow-release, drip irrigation devices, and take some water retention measures, it would be even more worry-free.
As mentioned above, because the water retention of small containers is limited, to avoid frequent watering, you can do some work to enhance the water retention capacity, such as wrapping the container with a plastic bag, which can significantly reduce water evaporation and loss. In the current weather of over 30 degrees, you can go without watering for two or three days, and the soil still remains moist. In addition, this can prevent the soil from being eroded by rain and avoid water overflowing from the window due to excessive watering.
Also because of the small size of the containers, it is impossible to apply a lot of base fertilizer in the soil, and the method of digging holes for topdressing is also difficult to operate. Therefore, although a certain amount of base fertilizer can be mixed into the soil before cultivation, a large amount of fertilizer needs to be dissolved in water and poured into the soil when watering. General chemical fertilizers and compound fertilizers can be fertilized in this way, but the trouble is that some solid organic fertilizers can only be used by making soil leachate.
The detailed explanation of the experience of high-density planting on the windowsill shared above, I hope this article can bring you some help in green plant management!